Director: Jennifer Coughlin, M.D.

Admissions

To arrange an admission, contact the Admission Coordinator at 410-955-5104 and fax a summary of current information to 410-955-6155. Please click here for the Psychiatry Inpatient Admissions.

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The service specializes in treating young adults and adolescents who have mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. This 4-bed inpatient specialty service is located on the fourth floor of the Meyer Building at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. While our service shares space with the Adult Mood Disorders Service, our team and approach are geared toward the care and treatment of younger individuals.

Expert Team

Our multidisciplinary team consists of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, and occupational therapists. The team works together to plan care and help patients meet their treatment goals. The team will meet with the patients each day to review their progress, discuss treatment, and make recommendations. A patient's daily life on our service also includes rounds, group therapy sessions, and meetings.   

Psychiatrists
The patients on this service are cared for by a Johns Hopkins psychiatrist who is a member of the faculty. The attending psychiatrist is assisted by a resident physician, who is a psychiatrist-in-training. Each morning the treatment team (psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers) meets with the patient to discuss the treatment plan. Patients meet their psychiatry resident at other times during the day to discuss progress and treatment. The senior psychiatrists who attend on this service have expertise in treating mood disorders in young adults and adolescents.

Nurses
Nurses help patients to better understand mood disorders as a medical illness. Nurses help educate patients about how to recognize the symptoms of the illness, and to understand medications and how they work. The unit is staffed 24 hours a day by nurses who specialize in psychiatric disorders and are responsible for patient care. Nurses also conduct some group educational sessions on the service.

Social Workers
The social workers are specialists in helping patients and families plan for the longitudinal care of the patient. The social worker participates in developing a treatment plan with the treatment team. The social worker will offer family and group therapy as needed. The goal is to work with the patient, the family,and outpatient care providers to maximize chances of success following discharge.  

Occupational Therapists
The occupational therapist, known as the OT, evaluates each patient within 48 hours of admission to the inpatient unit to develop a schedule of groups for the patient to attend. The OT conducts the groups and then attends rounds to report on how the patients are performing in areas that are affected by depression or bipolar disorder such as concentration, irritability, coping skills and problem-solving.

Family involvement is an important part of treatment. Parents/guardians will be asked to participate in family meetings throughout the inpatient hospitalization.